> Skip to content
[]
  • Published: 1 December 2026
  • ISBN: 9780593979211
  • Imprint: RH US eBook Adult
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 320
Categories:

The Girl's Guide to Guts

Everything Your Doc Didn't Tell You (But Your Bestie Would)




NBC News correspondent Chloe Melas and New York Times bestselling author Judy Batalion help you tackle the emotional and practical realities of bowel disease with candor, humor, and the kind of lived experience most medical experts can’t offer.

Bloating. Pain. Cramps. Gas. Food fear . . . Your doctor gives you medical advice. Your nutritionist suggests dietary changes. But who actually knows what you’re going through? Over 100 million women are living with IBS, IBD, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, and other chronic gut issues, yet most are ashamed to share their stories.

In The Girl’s Guide to Guts, Chloe Melas and Judy Batalion, who together have more than fifty years of experience living with ulcerative colitis, are here loud and proud, writing with remarkable openness about everything from bleeding and bloating to sex and fertility, what to do after a diagnosis, the anxiety of living with a chronic illness, what to bring in your carry-on (and we’re not talking heels!), and the countless lattes purchased in exchange for use of a bathroom. They also interview experts in their field to give you the inside scoop on what your doctor is actually thinking.

Here, you’ll read about figuring out how to survive a first date when your stomach is gurgling, navigating colonoscopies and chronic pain while raising kids and working high-pressure jobs, and learning how to advocate for yourself with your doctors.

The Girl’s Guide to Guts takes the conversations many readers are already having and puts them center stage. Welcome to the bowel movement movement!

  • Published: 1 December 2026
  • ISBN: 9780593979211
  • Imprint: RH US eBook Adult
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 320
Categories:

About the authors

Chloe Melas

Chloe Melas is an entertainment correspondent at NBC News appearing on the Today show, Nightly News, and NBC News Now. She previously worked at CNN where she broke numerous high-profile stories during the Me Too era and co-hosted CNN’s New Year’s Eve show alongside Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen. In 2023, Chloe worked to publish her late grandfather’s memoir, Luck of the Draw, which became a New York Times bestseller. Chloe is the co-founder of the gut health brand Bio.me. She lives in New York with her two sons, four pets, and husband.

Judy Batalion

Judy Batalion is a New York Times bestselling author of award-winning nonfiction and fiction. Her essays have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Vogue, among others. Judy has a BA in the History of Science from Harvard, a PhD from the University of London, and has worked as a museum curator and university lecturer. She lives in New York City with her husband and three children.